The Breaking Point
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Set after 'Prince Charmed'. Chris goes to see Piper after saving Wyatt from the Order only to be shunned once more. This time, Chris finds he's reached his breaking point and decides to end the pain once and for all. Can the Halliwell family save him before it's too late or will he be lost to them forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters.**

**A/N: This story contains suicidal themes. **

**The Breaking Point**

Piper Halliwell had just finished putting her son to bed for the night and headed out of the room. Just as she closed Wyatt's door, orbs filled the spot in front of her. She expected to see Leo or Paige, but instead it was her whitelighter, Chris Perry.

Piper immediately glared at the young man in front of her. "What the hell do you think you're doing here? I told you I didn't want to see you anymore!"

"Piper, please, just let me…"

"No, I'm not listening to your lies. I don't care that you saved Wyatt or that he suddenly trusts you. You're the one that put him in danger in the first place!" Piper yelled. If he thought one good act was going to redeem him for putting her baby in danger, he had another thing coming.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't know what else to do. I thought if Wyatt's powers were bound that I could save the future," Chris said. He had to get her to understand that he was at his wits end. He was trying to save the world and he was running out of time to do it.

"Don't you even think about going with that lie about Wyatt being evil. My baby is not evil!" Piper said. She refused to believe that her innocent little boy would grow up to be evil. Chris was the evil one. He was lying about Wyatt to protect himself. He was probably the real evil in the future.

"It's not a lie! I wish it were, but it's not. Wyatt is evil in the future and if we don't do something…"

"Shut up! If you say one more word, I swear to God I will blow your ass into next decade! If anyone is evil, it's you. Now get the hell out of my house, you little son of bitch before I blow you up anyway!" Piper yelled.

Chris felt like he had been blown up. The pain he felt from his mother's words was worse than being blown up a thousand times. His own mother had called him evil and threatened his life. And she meant it too. She really would blow him up, which would kill him since he was only half whitelighter.

Chris did his best to shield the overwhelming pain he was feeling and orbed out.

"And don't think you're going to the club either! You're not welcome in any place of ours!" Piper yelled at the ceiling, knowing he could hear her.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later, Chris was on the floor of the back room of the club with a bottle of vodka in his hand. He'd heard Piper tell him not to go there, but where else could he go? He had no money and no ID. He had nothing.

Chris kept replaying the conversation he had with his mother in his head. He never thought he'd hear his own mother talk about him like that. Leo he could see doing it. It wouldn't be the first time his father had had a go at him. But his mother was different. She was always the one person he could count on no matter what. His aunts were great too, but his mom was his rock.

And now his mom hated him. There was no denying it either. Chris knew she hated him. She'd threatened to kill him and called him a son of a bitch. The one person he loved the most hated his guts. That fact filled him with more pain than he'd felt in his entire life, and he'd felt a lot of pain.

Chris took a swig from the vodka bottle. He kept waiting for it dull the pain like it always did before. Oh, he was no stranger to alcohol for pain numbing purposes. He drank a lot in the future to make himself feel better. It wasn't working this time though. He was pretty drunk, but no matt how much he drank, the pain was still there and it was unbearable.

Chris just wanted it to stop. He wanted it to stop hurting. He was sick of hurting. He'd been hurting since he was fourteen and his mother died. That was when the spiral started and it just never seemed to stop. Tonight was the tip of the pain filled iceberg, but it certainly hadn't started tonight.

Chris noticed a dinner knife on the floor by the couch. He immediately scrambled over to it and picked it up. It would be so easy. It could end all the pain once and for all. It wasn't like it was the first time he thought about it either. He'd thought about it a lot in the future, but he'd always found a reason not do it. The future needed saving. Wyatt needed saving and he was the only one willing to do it.

Now things were different. Yes, Wyatt still needed saving, but Chris felt like there was no prayer of saving him. How could he save him if his entire family was against him. They weren't going to help him now. Hell, his mother had threatened to kill him if he even showed up at the Manor again. So what could he do? He supposed he could go home, but that would be the same as using the knife. Wyatt would kill him the second he got back.

Chris stared at the knife. Again, Piper's words echoed in his head and the pain felt like it would crush him. That was when he made the decision. He could handle a lot, but he couldn't handle his mother's hatred. It was time to end it all once and for all.

Chris brought the knife to his wrist and cut.


	2. Chapter 2

Leo orbed into the manor to see Wyatt. He knew Wyatt probably wouldn't be up anymore, but he still wanted to see the boy. The few hours that he had been gone was hell and he needed to be reassured that his little boy was okay. He also wanted to talk to Piper about the things Chris had told them

Leo hadn't even fully materialized in the kitchen before Piper started screaming. "What the hell did I just tell…? Oh, sorry, Leo, I thought you were Chris."

"Chris was here?" Leo asked surprised. He would've thought Chris would give the sisters at least a few days before approaching the sisters.

"Oh, yeah, he was here. I told that little bastard where he could go to," Piper said angrily. Needless to say she was still seething from Chris' lies and him showing up at the house after she told him he wasn't welcome.

"Piper, I know you're angry with Chris, but…"

"Of course I'm angry! You should be too after the lies he told," Piper said before clearing dishes from the disastrous dinner and putting them into the sink.

"Yeah, Chris has told a lot of lies in the past, but I'm not so sure this one is," Leo said. He didn't want to believe his son was evil, but he'd seen the look on Chris' face, both after Wyatt had been kidnapped and up on the bridge not too long ago. This whole thing was ripping him up. It just didn't seem like a lie.

Piper narrowed her eyes at her ex-husband. "What did you just say?"

Leo gulped. Piper had that 'repeat that and I'll blow you up' look on her face "Look, I just think we should consider the possibility."

"I am not considering that my baby is evil! No way in hell! I could not raise an evil child!" Piper yelled. She refused to believe it even for a second. She could not be such a bad mother that her son ended up evil. She just couldn't be.

"It's not that simple. It could be something like what happened tonight. A demon could grab him and change him. It probably has nothing to do with how good or bad our parenting is," Leo said.

Piper shook her head. "No. This is nothing but a vicious lie that Chris made up to screw with us! If anyone is evil it's probably him!"

"And if you're wrong? If it is true and we do nothing, we're letting Chris' past repeat itself. Is that really a chance you want to take?" Leo asked

Piper slammed a plate in the sink, breaking it instantly. "My son is not evil! And if you're going to stand there and try to say he is, you can leave!"

Leo sighed and orbed out. He knew there was nothing more he could say to get through to Piper right now, and honestly, he couldn't really blame her. He didn't want to believe any of this either

Leo materialized seconds later in the back room of P3. He wanted to talk to Chris about what happened to Wyatt in his future. Maybe he would learn something that could convince Piper to at least consider it.

The sight that greeted Leo when he got the club horrified him. Chris was sprawled out on the floor by the couch and there was blood coming out of his blood on him and the ground.

Leo immediately rushed to the young man's side. "Chris!" He immediately started searching for a wound to heal. It didn't take him long to find it or to realize that he wouldn't be able to heal him.

Chris was bleeding from both wrists. There was a large slash across both as well. Leo wouldn't be able to heal this. Chris had done this to himself and Leo could not heal self-inflicted wounds. "Oh, Chris, what did you do?"

Leo could hardly believe this was happening. Why would Chris kill himself? He knew Chris had been upset earlier, but he never thought it was to the point where he considered ending his own life. Had this been a sudden thing or had they been so blind that they didn't see that the young man was teetering on the edge just waiting for the one thing that would push him over?

Leo pushed those thoughts away. He did not have time to think about why Chris did what he did. He had to get the kid some help fast. If he didn't, Chris' reasons wouldn't matter because he'd be dead.

"Hang in there, pal. We're gonna get you some help," Leo said before taking Chris by the arm and orbing him away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Leo sat in the waiting room of the hospital. He was waiting to hear news about Chris. He'd brought Chris in about an hour ago and they were still working on him.

Chris' condition was affecting him more than he thought it should. He wasn't surprised that he cared about Chris trying to kill himself. He would be affected by anyone doing such a thing. But this wasn't like just anyone hurting themselves. When he saw Chris on the ground like that as a result of his own mutilation, Leo felt like it was a part of him on dying. He didn't know why he felt like that, but he did.

Leo rubbed his eyes. He just could not believe this was happening. Ever since he got to the hospital, he kept replaying the scene at the club with Chris on the ground. It was like it was haunting him. Probably because he felt like he should've seen it somehow. He was an elder for God's sake and he used to be a whitelighter. It was his job to guide and help people when they needed it, and in his mind, that meant psychologically too. He'd always prided himself with being able to see when someone was in real trouble. But he hadn't seen it with Chris. He hadn't see how close that young man was to losing himself.

Leo also wondered what had pushed him over the edge. Chris was fine the last time he'd seen him. Well, okay, not fine, but he didn't seem suicidal. He was ready and willing to do whatever it took to get the sisters to trust him again. So what had changed? What had made him go in a completely opposite direction and try to commit suicide?

Leo was soon pulled from his thoughts by a new voice. "Family of Christopher Perry?"

Leo immediately turned to see a young doctor coming his way. He immediately stood up. "Hi. How is he?"

"How are you related to Mr. Perry?" the doctor asked.

"He's my brother," Leo lied. He knew he had to make up some kind of family connection between him and Chris if he was going to get any information about him.

"Well, your brother is stable. You saved his life by getting him here when you did. I doubt he would've been able to hold on for much longer," the doctor said.

Leo shuddered when he thought about the implications of that. It was just by chance that he went to the club. He hadn't intended to go there. It was a last minute decision as a result of his conversation with Piper. If it weren't for that spontaneous decision, Chris would've died. "So he's going to be okay then?"

"Well, physically anyway. Mr. Perry, did you have any inkling that your brother was suicidal?" the doctor asked.

"No. Maybe I should've," Leo said sadly. At the very least, as an Elder, he should've been paying better attention and figured it out. Chris was a whitelighter. It was his job to know when a whitelighter was in any kind of trouble, even the mental kind.

"No, sir, you can't do that to yourself. Sometimes it just happens without anyone realizing. We're going to be holding your bother for a seventy-two hour psych hold. Once that's done, we'll decide how to proceed." The doctor told him.

Leo nodded, not sure what else to say or do.

"We're getting him situated right now, but after that, you'll be able to see him."

"Thank you," Leo said. He then watched the doctor walk away..


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Piper went to the club to help set up for the band playing later and to make sure that Chris was moved out of the back room.

"Hey, Piper," one of Piper's workers greeted.

"Hey, Eric. Everything's still a go for tonight, right?" Piper asked.

"Yup. Just got off the phone with the band manager to confirm," Eric said.

"Good. Now was Chris around when you got here?" Piper asked. For the whitelighter's sake, she hoped the answer was no.

"No, I haven't seen him. He could still be in back though. I didn't look," Eric said.

"He better not be there," Piper grumbled under her breath before heading towards the back. She made it towards the back and stopped dead in her tracks. Chris wasn't there, but he'd left the place a mess. His things were still there and there was a half empty vodka bottle on the floor.

Oh, Piper was going to kill him. Not only was the little bastard not moved out, but he was probably drinking her liquor without paying for it. "Chris! Chris, you get your ass down here now!"

It was only moments before she saw orbs began to fill the room. Piper was about to start screaming when the person materialized and it turned out to be Leo instead of Chris. "You are not Chris. Where is Chris?"

"Chris isn't coming. He's… busy," Leo said.

Piper frowned. The way he said that was weird. It sounded so sad. The way he looked left something to be desired too. He had huge bags under his eyes and they looked to have a sadness to them. "Leo, are you okay? You look exhausted. Can Elders even get tired?"

"They can after the night I've had. Look, Piper, I have to go. Just don't call Chris anymore. If you need something, call me. Wait, did you need something?" Leo asked. He was so flustered with everything going on with Chris that he forgot that Piper had called Chris for a reason.

"Yeah, I need Chris to come and pick up his mess! Oh, and to pay for the bottle of booze he stole. I swear, I've had it with that little bastard, Leo. You get his ass down here now!" Piper ordered.

"No," Leo said simply. It was probably the first time he'd ever refused her in such a way. Oh, he'd denied her on occasion, but never like this. Whenever he refused to do something, which to be honest wasn't that often, he always did so gently and gave her a reason. Not this time. This time he just told her he wasn't going to do it. Even if Chris was at the point where he could come down, he wouldn't let him. The kid obviously was not well.

Piper narrowed her eyes at her ex-husband. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"Chris is not coming down, Piper, not anytime soon. Until further notice, I'll be acting as your whitelighter," Leo said. It wasn't usually something an Elder would do, but under the circumstances, he thought it was for the best. The sisters weren't going to accept another whitelighter, and honestly, he wasn't going to trust just anyone with them.

"If you wanna do that after gets his crap out of her, fine. It's not like I planned on using him for a whitelighter anymore anyway. But right now he needs to come down and deal with his mess. The little son of bitch seriously must have a hearing problem. I told him last night that he had…"

"Wait a minute. You saw Chris last night," Leo said. Everything had been so hectic that he forgot that Chris went to the manor after leaving the bridge. That meant that Piper was probably the last person to see Chris before he slit his wrists.

"Yes, I told you I saw him. You know, right before you took his side and tried to say that our son might grow up to be evil," Piper said while glaring.

"What did you say to him, Piper?" Leo asked urgently.

"What?" Piper asked in confusion.

"I need to know exactly what you said to Chris last night," Leo told her.

"I told him to get his ass out of the manor and the club. I told him I never wanted to see him again. Pretty much what I told him after he got Wyatt kidnapped," Piper explained.

"You didn't say anything else?" Leo asked. This still didn't make sense with Chris' suicide attempt. She's said that earlier and he didn't try to kill himself. Unless that was just his last ditch effort before he gave up. But even if that was the case, it still didn't explain why he wanted to die.

"I told him if he didn't leave, I'd blow his ass up," Piper said.

"Piper, you cannot blow Chris up. He's not like me or any other whitelighter. He's part witch. He won't materialize a few seconds later," Leo lectured.

"Oh, come on, I wasn't really gonna blow him up. I was just pissed and wanted him gone. And how do we know he's really a witch? He certainly doesn't act like a witch would. For all we know, he's a demon or a warlock who gained the power to orb," Piper said. After what happened last night, she wouldn't be surprised.

"Trust me, he's not," Leo said. If Chris had been either of those things, slitting his wrists wouldn't have caused such damage to him.

"Yeah, well, I'm not convinced. After everything he's done, he could very well be the evil in the future," Piper said.

Leo sighed. He didn't have it in him to argue right now. He was too preoccupied with Chris' suicide attempt. To that end, he still didn't get his reasons. If it did have something to do with the fight with Piper then he had to be missing something. "Anything else happen?

"No, that was it. Now what's going on?" Piper asked. Something was obviously up for Leo to pump her for information like this.

Leo opened his mouth to speak when he heard a jingle. The other Elders wanted to talk to him. They'd probably heard about Chris' suicide attempt and wanted to confer. "I have to go. The other Elders are calling."

"What? No, not until you tell me what's going on," Piper said firmly.

"I can't. I'm sorry, I have to go," Leo said before orbing out.

Piper yelled in frustration and then started cleaning up the mess Chris had left behind. She picked up a knife that appeared to have blood on it. She stared at it for a minute, but just chalked it up to Chris getting drunk and accidently cutting himself.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Leo orbed Up There and immediately headed towards a group of his colleagues. "What's up?"

"I think you know, Leo," Zola said.

Leo nodded. "Chris."

"What happened last night was unacceptable. No whitelighter has ever done such a thing before," Odin said.

"Odin, you make it sound as if he broke some kind of law. He was in pain and he acted accordingly. It was a drastic and tragic move, but it doesn't merit anything but getting him some help," Leo said.

"We're considering stripping him of his whitelighter powers," Sandra said.

"You can't do that. Chris' powers weren't granted to him by us. He was born with them. He hasn't done anything to abuse them and he hasn't hurt anyone. Well, no one but himself," Leo said. If anyone had told him a few months ago that he'd be going to bat for Chris like this, he would've said they were crazy, but things changed when he found Chris at the club. In that moment, Chris was no longer the lying whitelighter from the future. He was a kid who was in so much pain that he decided to end his own life. He was a kid who needed help.

"He is a whitelighter. We cannot have a whitelighter going around maiming himself," Odin said.

"Then temporarily take his charges away. I was going to suggest that anyway. He needs time to recover from whatever is happening to him. Just don't take his powers. That's just going to make things worse," Leo said. Chris obviously already felt like he had nothing left. Taking his powers away would just cause that feeling to increase.

"And wasn't it you who wanted us to strip him of his powers just a few months ago?" Odin asked.

"Things have changed. Look, he needs help, not to be punished," Leo said.

"Do you know why Chris chose this path, Leo?" Sandra asked.

"No. I'm trying to find out, but I don't know yet. I intend to find out though and then I will do my best to help him through it," Leo said. He couldn't explain it, but he felt the need to help Chris. Something inside him just told him that it was his responsibility to get the kid through this. So that was what he was going to do.

"Alright, we'll consider your solution. You are after all one of us now, so you get a vote," Sandra said.

"But your vote is not the only one," Odin said.

"We'll all consider the options and make a decision," Zola said.

"Okay, thank you. Now, if that's all, I'm going to get back to Chris," Leo said.

Sandra nodded.

Leo immediately orbed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Leo was stationed by Chris' bedside watching him sleep. The poor kid looked so pale and helpless right now. The only other time Leo had seen him even remotely like this was when Bianca had attacked him. This time was even worse, probably because Leo knew that this had been caused by Chris himself.

Leo hated seeing Chris like this. It was strange because he had never really cared about Chris before, but now he did. He couldn't explain it, but when he saw Chris like this, it was like seeing Piper or Wyatt like this. It broke his heart. He just prayed he could help him through it.

Suddenly Chris started moaning in his sleep. "No. Please, I was only trying to help."

Leo put his hand on top of Chris' head for comfort. "It's okay, Chris. Everything' going to be okay."

Chris continued to moan and thrash in distress. "I didn't mean for him to get kidnapped. I just wanted to stop it all once and for all."

"I know. It's okay. It's not your fault," Leo told him. And the reality was that it wasn't. Wyatt probably would've been kidnapped whether Chris had tried to get the sister to bind his powers or not. True, what Chris did wasn't right, but he was desperate, more desperate than Leo even realized until now. People did questionable things when they were desperate.

"Please don't hate me, Mom," Chris pleaded in his sleep.

Leo frowned. Chris had been talking about his mother? Leo had assumed that he had been talking about what happened last night with Wyatt and how Piper had reacted to it, but apparently this was about his mother. Or maybe it was about both. It was possible that things were a bit jumbled in Chris' head. He might be mixing up different events. The kid was pretty out of it right now.

"Mom, please. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Chris cried.

Leo ran his hand through Chris' hair like he would Wyatt's. "It's okay, pal. You just sleep. Just get some rest. Everything is going to be okay."

Leo's gentle words and comforting words seemed to work because Chris soon quieted down and fell back into a peaceful slumber.

"I'm sorry, Chris. I'm sorry for the part we played in this," Leo said genuinely. He was not stupid. He knew they'd all contributed to this.

Leo's mind wandered to Chris' mother as well. She was obviously a part of it as well. Chris had somehow got it in his head that his mother hated him. She had obviously given him some reason to think that.

Leo was disgusted by it. He didn't know Chris' mother, but if Chris believed she didn't love him, she had obviously done something to make him think that. What kind of mother did that? He didn't care how Chris screwed up. No parent should turn their back on their child. Leo had only been a parent for less than a year and he already knew that there was nothing Wyatt could do to turn to cause him to turn his back on him. Even if it was true that he was evil, which it seemed it was, he wouldn't stop loving him.

Leo's thoughts were interrupted by Chris' doctor entering the room.

"Hi, Mr. Perry. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to step outside while I do a quick examination," the doctor said.

"Of course. I'll be right back, Chris," Leo said before standing up and walking outside.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Chris opened his to find himself in what looked to be a hospital and Leo by his side. He also felt stinging pain in both his wrists. "If this is the afterlife, I'm not impressed."

"You're in the hospital, Chris," Leo told him.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that. I guess I owe that to you. If you're here waiting for a thank you, you can keep dreaming. I didn't want to be saved," Chris said. He'd slit his wrists for a reason. He'd wanted the pain to go away. Dying seemed to be the only way to accomplish that. It still seemed that way. But of course Leo couldn't just let him have his own way for once. It was ironic really. The one time in his life when Leo got involved in his life was the one time he wished he hadn't.

"Yeah, I got that, Chris. Why'd you do it?" Leo asked. Okay, so he already knew that part of it had to do with Piper, but he wanted to know what Chris had been thinking when he decided to kill himself.

"It doesn't matter. You should've just let me be," Chris said.

"You expected me to let you die? I could never do that, Chris," Leo said. He couldn't believe Chris would think he could do it. No matter what their differences had been, he could never let Chris die if it were in his power to stop it.

"Why not. I'm nothing to you. I'm just the guy that sent you to Valhalla," Chris said. He was well aware that he was admitting guilt in sending Leo away. It didn't matter to him anymore. He didn't care what happened to him. Hell, maybe it would get the Elders to recycle him. Then the pain would finally end.

Leo could hardly believe it. He'd tried for months to prove that Chris was responsible for his trip to Valhalla. After a while, he'd let it go because of how much Chris had done for the girls, but that didn't mean he still didn't think about it. Now he knew for a fact. Chris had admitted. Yet somehow he no longer cared. Chris sending him to another universe seemed so trivial to agony Chris was going through right now. "Yeah, well, things have changed."

Chris blinked as if he heard wrong. "I just told you I sent you to Valhalla. I wanted you out of the way so I could get the girls to trust me without your interference."

"I heard you, Chris. It's not like it's anything I didn't already know. I also know why you're saying it. Suicide attempt number two, right? Well, it's not going to work. I don't care what you did anymore. I'm here and I'm fine. You're the one who's in trouble. And I'm going to do whatever I can to help you," Leo said.

Chris glared at his father. "I don't want your pity, Leo."

"I'm not offering you, pity, Chris, I'm offering you my help," Leo told him.

"I don't need your help, Leo," Chris said while glaring.

"You need someone's help. What happened last night is proof of that. I'm sorry, Chris. We should've seen that you were in trouble. We should've helped you before it got to this point," Leo said.

"Stop it!' Chris said angrily.

"No. I won't stop. Everyone else has, haven't they? Everyone else has left you in one way or another. You needed them and they left you," Leo said.

Chris shifted uncomfortably and looked away. Leo's words were hitting way too close to home. Yes, everyone had left him. Either willingly like Leo from the future and Wyatt or his mom and aunts who were killed. The only thing that had kept him going was the hope that he could change things. That had disappeared when Piper pushed him out. Not only did he lose his faith in saving Wyatt because he knew his family wouldn't help him, but his own mother had also rejected him. She'd threatened to kill him even. It was all enough to send him over the edge.

"But you're not alone anymore, Chris. I know I'm not your family, but I'm here for you. I wanna help you though this," Leo told him.

"Stop. Please stop," Chris said. This time it was a plea. He couldn't take this, not from Leo. He knew that it would just go away. It wouldn't be the first time Leo promised to be there for him and then broke that promise. This time wouldn't be any different.

"I won't stop, but I will let you be for now. Get some rest, Chris. You need it," Leo said.

Chris didn't' say anything. He just closed his eyes and began to drift back to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Piper was in her kitchen furiously cleaning it. She cleaned when she was upset, or in this case pissed off. She still couldn't believe Leo had dismissed her the way he had. Not only did he refuse to get Chris to clean up his mess, but he'd blown off all her questions about him and left to go talk to the damned Elders.

Soon the back door opened. Piper turned around to see her sister, Paige come in.

"Hey," Paige said.

"Hi," Piper said through gritted teeth as she continued to clean.

"You okay?" Paige asked.

"Depends. Does wanting to murder your whitelighter and your ex-husband count as being okay?" Piper asked.

"Why do you wanna kill Leo?" Paige asked. She didn't even bother asking about Chris. She knew why her sister was so pissed off with him. She couldn't say she blamed her much after what happened last night.

"He's acting weird. I called Chris because I wanted him to get his crap out of the club and clean up his mess, but Leo showed up instead. He said Chris wouldn't be answering our calls for a while, that Leo himself would be acting as our whitelighter. I told him that was fine, but I still wanted Chris to get his stuff out. And then he told me no."

Paige cringed. Yeah, she could see that pissing her sister off. It was out of character for Leo too. He usually backed Piper no matter what. That was probably why Piper got so mad about it.

"Then he pumped me for information on the last conversation I had with Chris. When I asked him what was going on, he got a call from the Elders and took off," Piper finished in irritation.

"You're right, Leo is acting weird. Maybe he'll show up later and explain though. After he's done with the Elders," Paige said.

Piper stopped and looked at her sister. "You don't think Chris did something to him do you? To make him act so weird.

Paige frowned. She wanted to say no, but Chris had proven himself to use desperate measures to get what he wanted. He'd proved that last night. But would he really go that far? "Did Leo seem like he was under a spell or anything?"

"No, he just seemed upset. Like he knew something that the rest of us didn't. It almost seemed like it was haunting him," Piper said.

"Well, then it probably wasn't Chris. Leo probably does know something we don't," Paige said.

"But what? Why was he pumping me about Chris?" Piper asked.

"Why don't you try asking him again? I'm sure he's done with the Elders by now," Paige said.

Piper sighed after a minute. "Leo!"

Orbs filled the room a few seconds later revealing Leo. "Unless this is demon related, I don't have time." Chris was asleep again, but he didn't want to leave him for long. He'd been alone long enough.

"Well, too bad! What the hell is going on with you, Leo? What's the deal with Chris?" Piper demanded to know.

"It's not my place to tell you and I really don't have time anyway," Leo said. He decided not to hide that there was something to tell. Piper already knew there was due to their conversation at the club. But he wouldn't tell her. Chris was entitled to his privacy.

"Damn it, Leo! If Chris has done something, we have the right to know!" Piper said angrily.

"No, you don't! Not about this. Now I have to go," Leo said before he started to orb out.

"Fine then I'll Just have Paige take me to Chris!" Piper yelled after him.

Leo immediately changed directions and orbed right back. "No. Piper, you need to stay away from Chris. Leave him be!"

"Why?" Piper asked.

"Look, will you just trust me? You need to leave him alone for a while," Leo said firmly. He really didn't want to think about how Chris would react if he saw Piper right now. She was the last straw before he'd tried to kill himself. Being subjected to her anger again could be disastrous to his recovery.

"I trust you, Leo. It's him I don't trust. Now tell me what's going on or I'll go to the source and ask him myself," Piper told him.

Leo sighed. He didn't see any other choice. He didn't want to expose Chris' problems, but more than that, he wanted to keep Piper away from Chris. Telling her the truth was the only way to do that. "Alright, fine. After I left here last night, I went to the club. I found Chris on the floor. He'd slit his wrists."

Paige's mouth dropped open in horror. She just pictured Leo finding Chris in such a position and it made her stomach turn. "Chris tried to commit suicide?"

Leo nodded. "A couple of minutes later and he would've succeeded."

"Did he know you were going to be there?" Paige asked. She wanted to know if Chris was really serious or if it was just a game to get sympathy. She hoped it wasn't, but she'd seen it happen a couple of times when she worked for social services.

"I didn't even know I was going to be there. It was a last minute decision that I made after talking with Piper. It was just a split second. It could've easily gone the other way. I could've decided not to go see Chris or to talk with him in the morning. It was only by a miracle that I decided to go," Leo said. It still hit him hard. If he had decided on any other course of action, Chris would be dead right now.

"So than he meant it. I didn't know you would save him. He wanted to die," Paige realized. She shuddered thinking about it. Someone she knew had tried to kill himself. He'd taken a knife to his wrists and tried to end his life.

Piper was shocked silent. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was having a hard time even comprehending the words. She'd heard them and she knew what they meant, but the idea of Chris doing something like that was unbelievable. Chris was the conniving, lying whitelighter from the future. Yes, apparently, he was also a young man who tried to end his life. The question was why. What had driven him to do the unthinkable?

Piper immediately flashed back to the night before. She remembered the look in Chris' eyes right before he orbed out that final time. They looked so sad and hurt. Piper had ignored it at the time because she was too angry to care, but now that she thought back on it, she realized just broken he really was.

"Piper, are you okay?" Paige asked.

"I…I… I have to check on Wyatt," Piper said before fleeing from the room. She wanted to get as far away from this situation as humanly possible. Because she knew why. She knew why Chris had made the decision to kill himself when he did and she couldn't face it. She couldn't face that she nearly caused the death of another human being.


	6. Chapter 6

Paige was in the kitchen doing the dishes. She'd decided to take over for Piper in cleaning the kitchen. It said a lot to how upset she was because she hated to clean. She was hoping it would get her mind of Chris, but so far it wasn't working.

Paige could still feel her hands shaking from learning what happened to Chris. It just freaked her out so much, more than any demon ever could. Chris, her whitelighter, tried to commit suicide. He'd taken a knife and slashed open his wrists in an attempt to kill himself.

Paige just didn't understand it. She didn't understand where the urge to do such a thing came from and why she didn't see it. Why hadn't she known Chris was in so much pain? She considered herself to be quite good at reading people. Maybe not as good as Phoebe who could actually sense people's emotions, but good enough to see when someone was so lost they were considering suicide. But she hadn't seen this coming. She hadn't had one inkling that Chris was so far gone. Looking back she could see times when he was in pain, but everyone felt pain at times. She just had no idea that Chris' was so deep that he felt he had no other solution than to stop living.

Paige's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the back door opening. She looked over to see Phoebe walk inside.

"Hey," Phoebe greeted.

"Hi. Where have you been?" Paige asked as she shut the water off and dried her hands.

"I had to stop by my office to pick up a couple of things and I had to speak to Elise. You're gonna give me a lift back to Hong Kong on your way back to Richard's, right?" Phoebe asked.

"Uh, actually, I think you should put that off for a while. We have a situation," Paige said.

Phoebe groaned. "Oh, not another demon. We just dealt with more than enough of those yesterday."

"No, not a demon. It's Chris," Paige said sadly.

"Oh, God, what has he done now? He couldn't even wait a whole twenty-four hours before pulling something else? What does he have a death wish?" Phoebe asked.

Paige shuddered at her sister's choice. "Yeah, Phoebe, he does. Look, I'm just gonna come out and say it. Last night, Chris tried to commit suicide."

"Chris tried to… What?" Phoebe asked in shaky voice. She had been prepared for a lot of things when her sister mentioned a situation with Chris, but this was not one of them. Just the thought of him doing this shook her to the core. It was the one of the most drastic things a person could do.

"He went to the club last night and slit his wrists," Paige told her.

Phoebe dropped her purse to the floor and went over to the table and sat down. "Oh my God!"

Paige followed her sister and sat down next to her. "Leo found him a little while after he did it."

"And he healed him?" Phoebe asked. Okay, so she knew Leo wouldn't be able to heal all of Chris' wounds. He wouldn't be able to heal Chris' reasons for trying suicide in the first place. Only time and a lot of help could do that. But at least Leo could heal his physical injuries.

"He couldn't. Leo can't heal self-inflicted wounds," Paige said. She remembered that from the time Piper had gotten so drunk she'd passed out. Leo couldn't heal her because she'd done it to herself. "He took him to the hospital. Apparently he got there just in time. Much longer and Chris would've died."

"And that's what he wanted," Phoebe said with a shudder. "Why'd he do it?"

"I don't know. If Leo knew, he didn't stick around long enough to tell me. He's taken this to heart. He's barely left Chris' side since it happened. He's acting almost like a dad to him. I guess it's understandable. He found Chris. He saw what the guy did to himself," Paige said. As hard as it was for them to take, it had to be worse for Leo since he actually saw what Chris did to himself.

"Does Piper know?" Phoebe asked.

Paige nodded. "She's the reason Leo even told us. He didn't want to because he didn't want to divulge Chris' business. Anyway, Piper knew Leo was keeping a secret about Chris and she threatened to go to Chris herself if he didn't tell her what was going on."

"Oh, that would've probably ended in disaster. No wonder Leo finally gave in. How did she take it? Phoebe asked. Honestly, it could've gone either way in her opinion. Under normal circumstances, Piper would have compassion for Chris, but she'd been really angry with him the last time she saw him. There was a chance she either wouldn't care or would think it was just another game Chris was playing.

"She didn't say much. Actually, she said nothing about it. She left the room mere minutes after Leo told us. I could tell it shook her though. Her lack of response was proof of that," Paige said.

"I think it's safe to say that it's shaking all of us. God, why didn't I see it? Why didn't I _feel _it? I'm an empathy for God's sake!" Phoebe scolded herself. She should've felt Chris' pain. She should've been able to do something to stop him from going this far.

"You've said it yourself, you can't feel anything from Chris," Paige said.

"Not unless it's very intense. If he was so bad he wanted to die, it had to be intense, Paige. Why didn't I notice? Hell, even without my empathic ability I should've realized something was wrong. We all should've," Phoebe said.

Paige nodded in agreement. She had been thinking the same thing just before Phoebe had arrived. "We probably should've seen something, but we didn't, none of us did."

"So what do we do now?" Phoebe asked. She felt she needed to do something to help Chris. He might have made some mistakes, but he was their whitelighter and he was hurting. They needed to be there for him.

Paige didn't have the chance to answer because at that moment because at that moment, they both saw orbs fill the room and turn into a man with Elder robes.

Phoebe stood up. "Um, hi. Can we help you?"

"Yes, you can get your sister," the elder said. "We have made a decision regarding the situation with Chris."


	7. Chapter 7

Chris woke up again several hours later. Once again, he found Leo by his side. He was kind of surprised. He assumed Leo would leave, despite the fact that he said he was going to be there for him. Leo said things to Chris all the time that he didn't really mean. He'd assumed this was one of those things. He'd assumed his father had only said that to absolve his guilt and that he would disappear when that went away. "You're still here."

"I told you I was going to be here to help you," Leo reminded him.

"Yeah, well people say things they don't mean all time." _'Especially you,' _Chris added to himself.

Leo cringed. He had a feeling Chris was speaking from experience when he said that. A lot of people had obviously damaged this kid in big ways, of which Leo knew he was one. "Well, I don't say things I don't mean. If I say I'm going to be here, I mean it."

Chris seriously could've laughed. In the future, Leo said things he didn't mean all the time, especially to him. He made a habit of it. "Well, I don't need you. You can go."

"I'm not going anywhere," Leo said firmly. At that moment though, he heard a jingle from above. He looked at the ceiling and frowned. It was the Elders, but they weren't calling from 'Up There'. They were calling from the Manor. Why in the world would any Elder be calling form the Halliwell Manor?

Chris noticed the look on Leo's face. "Something tells me you are."

"It's the Elders. Look, I will be right back," Leo told him. He didn't want to go at all, but this was probably about Chris and he had to be there to hear their decision.

"Don't bother," Chris said before turning away. He didn't want Leo to come back. All him being was, was an illusion that he cared.

"I'll be back," Leo said before orbing out. He materialized in the kitchen of the Manor to find all three sisters there with Odin. "Odin, what are you doing here?"

"We've come to a decision about what to do with Chris," Odin said.

"I figured, but why discuss it here?" Leo asked.

"Why are you making decisions about Chris anyway? What happened to him was mortal," Paige said.

"You don't think that would stop them, do you?" Piper said as she glared at the opposing Elder. She couldn't help it. She did hate the Elders.

"Piper," Leo admonished. He didn't need her antagonizing the Elders right, not when Chris' future was at stake.

"We're meeting here because our decision directly impacts the Charmed Ones," Odin said answering Leo, but ignoring the other questions and comments directed towards him.

"And the decision is?" Leo asked anxiously.

"We took all opinions into account, including yours, Leo. We have decided not to strip Chris of his whitelighter powers at this point," Odin said.

"Whoa, that was a possibility?" Paige asked shocked. She didn't even know the Elders could do that. Chris' powers were genetic. She assumed that they couldn't be taken from him.

Leo breathed a sigh of relief. He was really glad Chris would keep his powers. Taking them from him would've made things so much worse.

"We will, however, be suspending his orbing ability," Odin said.

"For how long?" Leo asked. He wouldn't argue with that decision. While he knew Chris wouldn't like it, it was probably for the best. Chris wouldn't be able to orb away to hurt himself again.

"Until we're certain that he is no longer a danger to himself. Chris will also reside in this house under the supervision of the Charmed Ones," Odin continued.

"What? You can't do that!" Piper protested. She did not want Chris there. Not just because of everything that went down the day before, but also because she didn't want the reminder of how badly she'd screwed up with him.

Odin glared at her. "Piper Halliwell, it is our opinion that you are the reason this situation exists. Therefore, it is for you to clean up! If you can't, Christopher's powers may not be the only ones we take."

"Wait a minute; this is not Piper's fault. Tell him, Leo. Tell this guy that Piper is not responsible for Chris' suicide attempt," Phoebe said.

Leo looked at his ex-wife with an apologetic look on his face. He wanted to be able to say what Phoebe was asking him to, but he couldn't. "I can't."

Piper visibly flinched at Leo's words. She'd already known inside her that she was responsible, but it was much different hearing Leo say the words out loud.

"And for that reason, I think it's a bad idea for Chris to be here. His self-esteem can't take another hit," Leo said.

"I can't believe you're saying this. You actually think Piper is to blame for this?" Phoebe asked.

"Not completely, but she contributed to it, as well as the rest of us, and her last conversation with him directly led to his decision to commit suicide," Leo said.

"Why do you say that?" Paige asked.

"I don't. He did," Leo said as he thought back to Chris' mumbles in his sleep. "Look, he shouldn't be in this house. It will be detrimental to his recovery."

"You think I drove him to this point and you're afraid I'll do it again," Piper said. It wasn't a question. She could tell that that was what he thought.

Leo looked straight at her and replied, "Yes. You have a temper, Piper. When things don't go your way, you lash out. Chris can't take that right now. He can't have you screaming at him that he's evil and threatening to blow him up!"

"Wait, she never said that," Phoebe argued. The last time they'd seen Chris, Piper had told him she didn't believe the things he told them and had made him leave, but it wasn't as severe as what Leo was saying. She never threatened his life.

Piper looked away guiltily.

"Did you?" Phoebe asked.

"I was mad, okay? I didn't think he was going to hurt himself over it," Piper said.

"But the fact of the matter is he did. Now it is up to the three of you to fix this," Odin said.

"Odin…"

"The decision has been made, Leo. You have no further say in the matter. You are an Elder, you are not his father," Odin said.

"Yeah, well, his father isn't here. Someone has to look out for him. And if you insist he stay here then I'm staying too. Consider me on vacation," Leo said.

Odin glared at him. "You can't do that."

"I just did. I promised Chris that I would help him through this and I intend to keep that promise. I won't be another person he can't count on. Have my powers stripped, I don't care. I'm sticking by Chris until the end," Leo said before turning to the Charmed Ones. "I still think this is a bad idea. I don't think Chris belongs in this house. But it seems my hands are tied. So the three of you have to get it together. I'm not going to let Chris be vilified again."

"Oh, please, like you've never said anything cruel to him," Piper said sarcastically.

"You're right, I have, but I'm dealing with it. I know I screwed up and I'll do what I can to make it right. I hope you will do the same," Leo said before orbing out without giving anyone the chance to speak.


	8. Chapter 8

Chris was sitting up in bed quite annoyed. Right after Leo left, a psychiatrist had shown up to talk to him about what he had done and how he needed to open up and talk about it if he was going to heal. Yeah, like that was going to happen. No mortal doctor would even know what to do with the things in his head.

Soon orbs filled the room and Leo was revealed. "Hey."

"Great, you're back," Chris said unenthusiastically.

"Yeah, I would've been back sooner, but I sensed another presence in the room.

"Yeah, aren't shrinks grand?" Chris asked sarcastically.

"Well, did he help you at all?" Leo said.

"Oh, yes, tons. I had a major breakthrough. I told him all about your evil son from the future and how he uses his magical powers to destroy the world," Chris said sardonically. Seriously, sometimes he thought Leo was truly stupid.

"That's not what I meant. I just figured maybe you could've talked to him without all the magic mixed in. I don't think your powers are magical anyway, Chris," Leo said. Yes, magic was involved because Chris was magical, as were everyone in his life, but his issues with people were very mortal. The pain and inadequacy he felt were due to human issues.

"I'm not talking to some stranger about my life," Chris said firmly.

"It doesn't have to be a psychiatrist. You could talk to me if you want. I'd be more than happy to listen," Leo said.

"Like I said, I'm not talking to some stranger about my life," Chris repeated. Leo might be his father one day, but he was still a virtual stranger to him. Hell, he was that even in the future. "So what did the wonderful Elders have to say?"

Leo sighed and sat down in the chair next to Chris' bed. This was not going to be easy to say. He knew that Chris was not going to like it one bit. Hell, Leo didn't like it either. "Your attempt to kill yourself has the Elders in an uproar. No whitelighter has ever tried to commit suicide before."

"Oh, well, I'm so sorry I upset you and your buddies," Chris said insincerely. He didn't give a rat's ass how the Elders were impacted. Another thing he got from his mother. He was a lot like her. The past version of her might have noticed that if she didn't hate him so much.

"The Elders have decided to suspend your orbing ability for a while," Leo told him.

"Whatever," Chris said almost indifferently. He just couldn't bring himself to care right now. He didn't even care about being alive, let alone having his powers. Well, that wasn't completely true. He did care about being alive. He simply wished he wasn't.

Leo cringed. He was expecting a completely different reaction from Chris. I expected him to be angry. He actually preferred that to this. At least then he would know there was something in Chris willing to fight. "There's something else. Until they're sure you won't hurt yourself again, the Elders want you to live at the Manor."

Okay, now that Chris cared about. That he wasn't going to take lying. "Are you kidding me?! No way in hell!

"You don't have a choice, Chris. Believe me, I don't like it either," Leo sad.

"No, of course you don't," Chris said. Leo didn't want him near his precious son, so of course he was protesting this arrangement.

Leo knew immediately what Chris was thinking. "No, it's not like that. I told you last night I trust you. The truth is I don't trust them right now. I don't trust that what happened last night won't happen again. My concern for you going there is for you, not them."

Chris was slightly surprised by his father's response. Never in his life had the man ever been concerned for him. It was ironic really. His mother had always been the one on his side in the future and his father had always brushed him aside for everything else. Now it seemed that those positions had reversed.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know it's not exactly the best arrangement," Leo said.

"So stop it. You're an Elder," Chris said.

"I can't. My opinion might matter now, but it doesn't carry so much weight that it overrules everyone else's," Leo said.

"Fine, I'll stop it then. I won't go," Chris said simply.

"You don't have a choice, Chris. If you don't go, they will take your powers and you will be mortal. And as a mortal who just tried to commit suicide, they will institutionalize you," Leo said. He'd given this some thought. He thought about ignoring what Odin had said, but it wouldn't have ended well. They would stick Chris in a mental hospital and that wouldn't be any better for the kid. While he thought Chris did need some sort of help, being locked up wasn't t.

Chris let out a yell of frustration. "This is freaking insane! They shouldn't have the right to decide this!"

"You're right, they shouldn't. Look, you won't be alone, okay? I'll be there too. I won't let what happened last night happen again," Leo promised.

"Oh, please. Even if I believed you meant that, what good would it do? Piper doesn't want me there and she will make that very clear. You won't go against her. You never do," Chris said. Leo was very much a 'yes man' when it came to Piper. Even in the future that was how it worked. He never said no when she wanted something. Well, except when it came to Chris.

"Yeah, well, it won't be like that this time. I've already told all the sisters that I won't let what happened last night happen again, and I won't. I love Piper, but the way she treated you was wrong. The way all us treated you was wrong. It will not happen again. I promise you that," Leo said. He meant every word too. What Chris said about him never going against Piper was true, but this time was different. He would not stand by her at the expense of Chris' life. "Just give me a chance, Chris. Let me help you. I promise you things will be okay if you do."

Somehow Chris doubted that. Things didn't seem like they would ever be okay. His mother hated his guts, his aunts weren't much better, and somehow his father was his ally. Talk about the world being turned upside down. No, things probably would not be okay. But really what did he have to lose at this point? He was already at the point where he wanted to die. What was worse than that? "Fine."


	9. Chapter 9

Phoebe and Paige walked into the kitchen the next day to find Piper making breakfast. She looked anything but happy. "Hey," Phoebe said.

"Hi," Piper said as though nothing was wrong. Her tone betrayed her though.

"Are you okay?" Paige asked.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Piper asked.

"I don't know. Maybe because the Elders, Leo included, told you just yesterday that you aided in Chris' suicide attempt and once they left, you locked yourself in your bedroom," Phoebe said.

"I don't want to talk about Chris," Piper said. She didn't even want to think about Chris. Thinking about Chris brought her nothing but guilt. She tried not to feel it. She tried to tell herself that what happened to Chris was not on her, that Chris' suicide was his fault and his alone. Hell, she'd even tried to tell herself that it was just another one of his manipulations, but she knew all of that was simply justification. She was trying to justify the way she treated him. And the more his suicide attempt sunk in, the more she realized it was unjustifiable.

"Honey, you're going to have to talk about him. You're going to have to talk _to_ him. He's going to be in this house soon and you won't be able to avoid him. Piper, you do realize that Leo and that other Elder were wrong, right?" Phoebe asked. She knew that Piper had said some heated things to Chris, but that didn't make her responsible for hurting himself, and honestly, after what he'd pulled with Wyatt, she couldn't really her sister.

Piper sighed. She didn't want to talk about this, but it seemed her sisters weren't going to let her be about it. Besides, Phoebe was right. She couldn't avoid the subject of Chris for long thanks to the freaking Elders. "You know, I've spent nearly every waking moment since I found out what Chris did thinking about the last time I saw him. He came to me and he begged me to listen to him, but I wouldn't."

"Piper, he tried to manipulate us into binding Wyatt's powers. He got him kidnapped. You had no reason to listen," Phoebe said. She felt for Chris, she really did. He was brought to the point where he felt the only out he had was through death and that was truly sad, but it didn't excuse all the lies.

"You don't get it. It's not about what he did or how wrong it was. That really doesn't matter right now. It's about how he was when he was here. He was still actively trying to gain my trust. He was still determined to do what he came to do. He wasn't suicidal. What am I supposed to make of that? He wasn't suicidal when he got here, but he was when he left," Piper said. That was the thing that got her. If it weren't for her knowing he was okay when he came to see her and not when he left, she could make herself believe that her sisters were right and it wasn't her fault.

"Okay, Piper, I don't think that's entirely true. Chris didn't do this because of one conversation. Look, maybe you're right and you did push him over the edge, but I think it's very likely that he was already on the edge to begin with," Paige said.

"Right, but I gave him the final shove. Do you have any idea what that is doing to me right now? I'm supposed to protect the innocent. I'm supposed to be someone whitelighters and witches can trust and count on. Chris is both and I nearly killed him," Piper said guiltily. She'd said to more than one person that she thought Chris might be evil, but the truth was that that was just something she wanted to believe. She wanted to believe that so she didn't have to believe that that title went to her son. Chris was manipulative and deceptive more often than not, but that was a far cry from evil. He was a witch and a whitelighter and he tried to kill himself because of her.

"Come on, Piper. One conversation could not have had that big an effect on him," Phoebe said. She found it hard to believe that a few harsh words from someone he barely knew could cause Chris such pain. There had to be another reason he did what he did.

"That's not necessarily true. I'm sorry, Piper, I don't mean to hurt you, but when I worked for Social Services, I heard of much less driving a suicidal teen over the edge. When you already have it in your head, it's not hard to find the one thing to push you over the brink," Paige said.

"Are you saying it is Piper's fault?" Phoebe asked with a glare.

"No, not alone. She didn't create the original problem. But did she deliver the final blow? Probably," Paige said. With what Piper had just told them about Chris coming to try to make amends, it made her believe that maybe Piper was right. That her harshness had pushed him to his breaking point.

"There's no probably about it. I did this. Leo's right, Chris shouldn't be here," Piper said. Like Leo, she was afraid of what happened happening again. She felt a lot of guilt for what happened, but she still had a lot of issues with Chris that had nothing to do with his suicide. She was still angry at him for all the lies and getting Wyatt kidnapped, and she still wasn't ready to accept what he told them about Wyatt. She was afraid that Leo was right. That she would lose it again and cause Chris to hurt himself again.

"But there's no choice. If we don't do this, Chris will lose his powers and you probably will as well, Piper. That's not n anyone's best interests," Paige said.

"But is this any better? I'm just not sure me being around Chris is a good idea.

"It won't happen again, Piper. You're aware of what happened. You know how that Chris' emotional stated is fragile. You won't make the same mistake twice," Paige assured her.

"Well, Leo wasn't so sure of that," Piper commented.

"Leo's acting weird. It's like he's Chris' new protector. It's really strange," Phoebe said.

"I think Leo was really shaken by Chris' suicide attempt. I think after finding him like that, Leo saw something in him that he hadn't seen before. For the first time, he saw him as a messed up kid instead of someone who made him leave his family," Paige said.

"Then Leo will protect Chris. He'll protect him from me if he has to," Piper said. He had to. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she hurt Chris like this again.

"Piper, that won't be necessary," Phoebe said confidently.

"I hope you're right. Now I need to finish breakfast and get to the club, so if you guys wouldn't mind," Piper said, indicating that she wanted to be alone.

Both sisters were reluctant, but they did as Piper asked and left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Phoebe walked into the attic to find Paige putting all the weapons they'd accumulated over the years into a big box. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing all the weapons up," Paige said as she put a crossbow in the box.

"Uh, why?" Phoebe asked slowly.

"Well, Chris will be here later today. I'm no expert or anything, but I'm pretty sure weapons and suicidal people don't mix," Paige said sarcastically.

"Okay, but we need those things. They come in handy sometimes when demons show up out of the blue and our powers aren't enough," Phoebe argued.

"I'm not getting rid of them. They'll be locked safely away in the basement. We barely go in there anyway," Paige said before going over to grab the book.

"Whoa, okay, what are you doing with the book? The weapons are one thing, but the book?" Phoebe asked. This was crazy. They couldn't change their whole lives over this, especially their Wiccan lives. It was very important.

"Phoebe, Chris needs to heal. He needs to forget about this obsessive quest he's on for the time being and focus on putting his life together. He can't do that if the Book of Shadows is practically thrown in his face," Paige explained before placing the book into the box and closing it up.

Soon, they both saw orbs appear into the room. Leo materialized seconds later.

"Hey, Leo. Where's Chris?" Paige asked.

"He'll be here this afternoon. I just wanted to come by first and talk to you all. Where's Piper?" Leo asked.

"Where she always is when she's stressed? She's in the kitchen," Phoebe said.

"Okay, well, I need you guys to get ready for Chris. There are certain things that need to be done," Leo said.

"I'm already on it. I've already packed up all the weapons and the book. I'm headed down to the kitchen next to get all knives and forks," Paige said.

Leo nodded. "Good, that's a good start. You should get rid of the potions too. Some of those are lethal. He could use them to hurt himself."

"Leo, how are we supposed to defend ourselves against demon attacks if we're doing all this?" Phoebe asked.

"You have your powers, and it's not like I'm suggesting you get rid of the stuff completely. I just need it hidden away. Chris' life is in jeopardy here," Leo said seriously.

"Of his own making," Phoebe said quietly.

"Phoebe!" Paige admonished. She'd heard what her sister said.

"No, look, I get it. Chris has had a difficult time and we haven't helped him, but doesn't he have any responsibility here? He's the one that tried to take the easy way out," Phoebe said. She realized that Chris was very troubled to do what he did, but she felt that he should held a lot of the blame for his suicide attempt. No one forced his hand after all.

"You make it sound as if he did it at the first sign of trouble. I don't believe that. Chris has been fighting ever since he got here and probably for a lot longer. If even half of what he told us about the future is true, then he lived a pretty dark life. But he still kept fighting. He went so far as to come to come back here to save someone that is responsible for that darkness," Leo said. He caused him pain to think that his own son was responsible for a great deal of Chris' and probably many others' pain, but he knew it was true. Chris was being truthful about Wyatt.

"You believe him about Wyatt?" Phoebe asked.

Leo nodded. "I don't want to, but I do. He's got no reason to lie about it, especially now. He's so self-destructive right now that he'd probably lie by saying he did lie. It's true. And he came back to save Wyatt. He's fought hard against the despair inside of him. But how much is one man supposed to be able to handle? He had everything that has gone wrong in his life in his head, plus everything we put on him. It broke him. We broke him." He couldn't even put it all on Piper. Piper delivered the final blow, but they all aided in Chris' breakdown. Every last one of them had treated Chris like dirt.

"I think Leo's right. I've never told anyone this, but I've been where Chris is. I thought about killing myself when I was a kid," Paige admitted.

"What?" Phoebe asked her sister in horror. She'd never known her sister was suicidal. She knew she'd been pretty troubled as a teenager, but then Phoebe wasn't much different herself. She never knew her sister had actually thought about hurting herself.

Paige nodded sadly. "My parents had just died and I blamed myself. I thought about it. But I had people around me to help me. I don't think Chris had that. He seems to be pretty alone. If it was that way for me, I might not be here right now."

"Well, Chris isn't gonna be alone anymore. I promised him I'd be here for him. Now, I don't think he believed me, but I intend to prove it. I'll be staying with you guys as long as Chris is and I'm going to help him through this," Leo said.

"It really affected you to find him like that, didn't it?" Paige asked.

"More than I can describe. For a second, it felt like it was gonna break me," Leo said. He couldn't explain it, but seeing Chris so close to death was debilitating. It was how he expected it would be like if Wyatt was in such a position.

"It can't be an easy thing to see," Phoebe said.

"No, it's not. Look, I gotta go. I just wanted to make sure everything would be safe for Chris to come here," Leo said.

"It will be," Paige promised.

Leo nodded and orbed out.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, Paige walked into the living room where her sisters were. "Okay, so I think the Manor is now completely safeguarded."

"And where exactly did you put my kitchen utensils?" Piper asked. She understood the need to keep them out of Chris' orbit, but she did need to know where they were so that she could use them when she needed them.

"In your room on the top shelf of your closet, which now has a dead bolt on it. I have the key to that right here," Paige said before pulling a single key out of her pocket and handing it to her sister.

"Potions?" Piper asked.

"Basement. That also has a deadbolt on it and I have that on my keychain," Paige said.

"I got all my stuff moved into your room so Chris can take mine," Phoebe said. It had been agreed that she and Paige would share a room so that Chris could have hers.

"Good. I think that means we're all ready," Paige said.

"Well, the house is ready anyway. She still wasn't ready for Chris to come to the house. She still felt a lot of guilt over her part in all this, and she was also still angry with Chris for his last stunt too. She was trying to get over it, but it wasn't easy.

At that moment, Leo orbed in with Chris.

"Hey, Chris," Paige said with an inviting smile.

Chris shifted uncomfortably. "Hi."

Piper, meanwhile, was staring at Chris' arms. His wrists were covered in bandages from where he'd cut himself. All she could do was picture how they looked before the bandages were applied. She'd done that. She'd caused him to cut himself in an attempt to take his own life. She knew that of course, but knowing it and seeing evidence of it were two different things.

Chris forced himself to look at Piper. "I know you don't want me here. Sorry."

Piper felt lower than dirt. Chris apologizing to her for this felt wrong. She'd done this to him, not the other way around. It was almost like he was apologizing for not dying and that wasn't right.

"Uh, why don't we get you settled in? What room is he taking?" Leo asked.

"Mine," Phoebe said.

"That's not necessary," Chris said. He didn't want them going out of their way for him, especially since he knew they were only doing it because they pitied him. They didn't care about him.

"It's no problem. Paige and I are gonna bunk for a while," Phoebe said.

"Come on, you should rest," Leo said before taking Chris by the shoulder and leading him towards the stairs.


End file.
